French Figural Bronze Rabbit Signed Vidal

A mid-19th century French bronze figure of a rabbit on green marble base, signed signed Vidal. The bronze shows superb anatomical detail and the pose shows great movement. Measurement: 3 1/2" by 4 1/2". Condition: Excellent.

This is the surname of Louis Vidal (1831-1892), a famous French anamalier, also known as Vidal Navatel or Vidal aveugle (Vidal the blind) as he lost his sight after contracting a disease in his younger years. He was a superb sculptor despite this seemingly impossible handicap for an artist. He was a pupil of the very famous sculptor Antoine Louis Barye and was sometimes helped by Alfred Barye who retouched his works before the bronze casting process. Vidal exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1855 and subsequently at the Paris Salon from 1859 until 1882.